The role of productivity criterion on making management decisions

In collaboration with the industrialization, enhancements were provided about the volume of production activities that has been done for answering the social requirements and in parallel to these, management of production activities became much more intensive and complicated. Various techniques and methods were developed as a result of researches and applications that have been made to increase the productivity which is simply defined as input-output ratio. In the terms of this goal, management activities were questioned, behaviors of employers and employees were analyzed, various management methods and techniques were developed. Despite the changes on technology and sources, productivity is always accepted as a performance indicator. In spite of the changes on its definitions of input and output which are the key elements of productivity, productivity is still a criterion for decisions. In this study, methods? ways of reaching productivity were summarized, management functions and their effects on productivity were evaluated. The importance of decision making process which is one of the most important skills in management was emphasized as a major determinant of the productivity. Furthermore, after explaining the factors which are in the scope of management and affecting productivity, some of the techniques that can be used by managers to increase productivity were stated. Finally a questionnaire was used to find out the extent to which the Aegean Free Zone companies were making use of productivity as a criterion to shape their management decisions.